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Rock Springs and Cody Students Selected as UW Honorary Cowboys

October 16, 2013 — Elementary students from Rock Springs and Cody are the
recipients of Honorary Cowboy awards given by the Associated Students of the
University of Wyoming (ASUW).

Phillip Hansen Jr., 11, of Rock Springs and Cody’s Jozi
Simpson, 10, will be honored this weekend and will be recognized during the UW
Cowboys/Colorado State University game Saturday, Oct. 19. Game time is at noon.

ASUW
gives the Honorary Cowboy award to a Wyoming K-12
student facing “formidable life circumstances,” says ASUW President Brett
Kahler, a communications senior from Casper. The award was established last
year by the 100th ASUW student government to award a student who represents the
“cowboy-up” spirit to face personal challenges.

“We are excited to honor these two students with this award.
I believe that this award shows that the UW community reaches beyond the limits
of Laramie and into the communities that comprise this wonderful state,” Kahler
says. “We are happy to recognize Jozi and Phillip with an award that recognizes
them as part of the UW family, and to celebrate their strong spirit in the face
of adversity.”

The first ASUW Honorary Cowboy was ASUW office associate
Lisa Augustin’s son, Derek, who was receiving treatment for cancer at the time
of the recognition.

This year, ASUW selected two nominees.

Hansen has dealt with two major losses in his family in
recent months. While his younger brother, Hunter, was being treated for
leukemia, his mother suddenly died of a heart attack. Three months later, Hansen’s
brother passed away.

“I see Philip as a resilient student, moving on with his
life with his father,” according to a letter from his nominator, teacher Erika
Frisby. “Even through these hardships, father and son persevere and exemplify
the ‘cowboy-up’ spirit in their day-to-day lives.”

Hansen is the son of Phillip Hansen Sr. of Rock Springs.

Simpson’s father fell at a construction site and was injured
so badly that he is now paralyzed from the chest down. In recent months, Simpson
has shown “an upbeat spirit and a work ethic of someone twice her age,” says a
nominator. She is involved in student council, poetry club and competitive
clogging.

“Jozi has learned to deal with adversity with a broad Wyoming
smile on her face,” says a teacher who nominated her for the award. “She
absolutely attacks any difficult task that is put before her with gusto and
good cheer.”

Simpson is the daughter of Julie and Sean Simpson of Cody.

An executive officer, senator and staff member from ASUW, along
with a UW Athletics Department official and a UW student, select the award
recipients. Nominations are distributed statewide, and nominators submit letters
of recommendation.

Hansen and Simpson will be at UW Friday evening and taken to
dinner. They will then be honored at the UW football game against CSU, where
they will be escorted onto the field by members of the UW football staff.